With
gratitude to all who serve and have served in the United States military,
especially in 1941-1945, we continue our annual series of conferences on World
War II – to better understand and further appreciate the epic struggle of the
20th century
Our 2010 conference in Sarasota will again feature an all-star cast of historians whose topics will cover battles, personalities, organization,
logistics and perspectives pertaining to both the Pacifc and European theaters.
With us for the first time at the Sarasota WWII Conference will be Len
Fullenkamp, Richard McMurry and Michael Pearlman.
Two of our historians saw combat experience in the Pacific theater and
will share with us their war-time experiences:
· Edwin C. Bearss who has participated in all of our Sarasota WWII
conferences to date. Ed served in the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion, and
was severely wounded at “Suicide Creek” (Cape Gloucester, New Britain).
· Ivan Hammond, joining us for the first time. Sergeant Hammond spent
the entire 36 days on Iwo Jima.
We
will have books written by our faculty members available at the conference, so
you will be able to secure autographed copies for your libraries.
The
conference will again be headquartered at the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel,
1540 Ben Franklin Drive, on Lido Beach in Sarasota, Florida where we have
reserved a block of sleeping rooms at the nightly rates of $115 (Northside or
Courtyard), $135 (Poolside) and $160 (Gulfside). The Helmsley Sandcastle offers
600 feet of private beach, two outdoor pools and a host of other amenities. Call
800-225-2181 Monday thru Friday, 9:00AM-5:00PM and identify yourself as a
registrant for the World War II Conference.
Now,
we invite you to enroll and be assured of a space because seating and hotel
rooms are limited. We hope you’ll join us on Lido Beach for the Sarasota
World War II Conference!
2010 Sarasota World War II Conference - FACULTY
COL.
ROBERT J. DALESSANDRO, Ret is the
Assistant Chief of Military History at the United States Army Center of
Military History at Fort McNair, Washington, DC. Previously he served as the
Director of the Army Heritage Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is
the co-author of The Organization and Insignia of the American Expeditionary
Force, 1917-1923 and serves as an advisor to the American Battle Monuments
Commission for the Normandy American Interpretive Center at Colleville-sur-Mer,
France.
EDWIN
C BEARSS, historian emeritus of the
National Park Service, is the most well-known battlefield guide in America and is acclaimed as one of the stars of Ken Burns's award-winning PBS series, The
Civil War. As a Marine in World War II, his life changed forever at a place
in the Pacific dubbed "Suicide Creek" (Cape Gloucester, New Britain) where he was severely wounded by Japanese machine gun fire.
CARLO
W. D’ESTE is the author of many books
including Decision in Normandy; Bitter Victory: The Battle for
Sicily, 1943; World War II in the Mediterranean; Fatal Decision:
Anzio and the Battle for Rome; and three biographies: Patton: A Genius
For War; Eisenhower: A Soldier’s Life; and Warlord: A Life
of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945.
COL.
LEONARD J. FULLENKAMP, Ret is
Professor of Military History and Strategy at the U. S. Army War College at
Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and directs the Army War College’s staff ride
program. During a thirty-year career, he served in a variety of command and
staff positions in the U.S., Europe and the Republic of Vietnam. Professor
Fullenkamp will lead the Sicily portion of our June, 2010 tour of The Italian
Campaign.
IVAN HAMMOND, a
sergeant in the 5th Marine Division of the 5th Marine Amphibious Corps, landed on Iwo Jima on 19, February 1945 and spent the
entire 36 days there.
RICHARD
M. McMURRY is the author of many books
including John Bell Hood and the War for Southern Independence, Two
Great Rebel Armies: An Essay in Confederate Military History, and Virginia
Military Institute Alumni in the Civil War, In Bello Praesidium. Although
primarily know as a Civil War scholar, he is also an ardent enthusiast of the
battleship.
COL. JERRY D.
MORELOCK, Ret., a decorated
combat veteran of the Vietnam War, is the Editor in Chief of Armchair General
magazine. His final active duty tour was as the Director of the Combat Studies
Institute of the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS. He is the author of many publications include the books, Generals of the Ardennes:
American Leadership in the Battle of the Bulge and Great Land Battles From the Civil War to the Gulf War.
MICHAEL D. PEARLMAN retired in 2006 as a professor of
history at the United States Army Command and General Staff College. He is the
author of several books including Warmaking and American Democracy: The
Struggle Over Military Strategy, 1700 to the Present and Truman and MacArthur: Policy,
Politics, and the Hunger for Honor and Renown, which is the co-winner of
the Independent Publisher Book Award for the outstanding history book of 2009.
CRAIG
L. SYMONDS recently retired as Professor of History at the U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis. Maryland. He is the Chief Historian of the USS Monitor
Center at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia and the author of many
books including Confederate Admiral: The Life and Times of Franklin Buchanan; Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles That Shaped American
History; and most recently Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln,
the U. S. Navy and the Civil War for which he is a co-winner of the 2009
Lincoln Prize.
2010 Sarasota World War II Conference
Wednesday,
January 27
2
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Welcome Reception & Cash Bar
7:00 PM thru Sat 12:00 N Book Display & Sale
Thursday,
January 28
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM Operation Husky and the Battle for Sicily
– Leonard J. Fullenkamp
9:45 AM -10:45AM The Italian Campaign – A Re-Appraisal
- Carlo W. D’Este
11:00AM -12:00 N The
Battle of the Bulge: Myths and Realities of America’s Greatest Battle - Jerry
D. Morelock
12:00 N – 1:00 PM Group Lunch in Dining
Room.
(Those not enrolled for the group lunch can dine in
the Hotel Coffee Shop).
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM ETO:
A Review and Open Forum – a panel discussion with Carlo D’Este, Leonard
Fullenkamp and Jerry Morelock moderated by Robert Dalessandro
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Reception in honor
of Ed Bearss, Ivan Hammond and all other World War II veterans in
attendance
Friday,
January 29
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM The Great American
Battleship: Its History and Role in World War II – Richard M. McMurry
9:45 AM -10:45AM The Battle of Midway and the Flight to
Nowhere
– Craig
L. Symonds
11:00AM - 12:00 N 36 Days on Iwo Jima – Ivan Hammond
12:00 N - 1:00 PM Group Lunch
in Dining Room
(Those not enrolled for the group lunch can dine in
the Hotel Coffee Shop).
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM Zooseum: Behind the Scenes at the Army Museum
– Robert J. Dalessandro
Saturday, January 30
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM With
the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion at Bougainville
– Edwin
C. Bearss
9:45 AM - 10:45AM Unconditional
Surrender: Demobilization
and the Atomic Bomb - Michael D. Pearlman
11:00AM -12:00 N Ike: A Soldier’s Life – Carlo W. D’Este
American
History Forum reserves the right to change the order and topics of
presentations, and to substitute faculty members as circumstances may dictate.
